Another Epilogue: Second Beat
by Ash the Aura Guardian
Summary: As the only member of the SSS who stayed behind, Otonashi has nothing left of his past but painful memories and deep regrets, doing a job which slowly kills his humanity as he waits for someone who may never return. However, a new arrival to the Afterlife proves that destiny can overcome even death...though it may take time. Set after 'Another Epilogue', Rated 'T' just in case.
1. Heart and Soul

**Hey guys, thought I'd make my first attempt at the '**_**Angel Beats!'**_** fanfic archive! While I thought my first project would be Pokémon related, I was suddenly blindsided by this gem and just **_**had**_** to write something about it, especially since there aren't enough 'AB!' fanfics around here.**

**I thought 'Another Epilogue' was pretty cool, but also rather depressing. This story takes place in the same continuity and is set a long time after Another Epilogue. It won't be very long, but I hope it's good enough for a first attempt. **

**Disclaimer: **_**'Angel Beats!'**_** doesn't belong to me. Otherwise, the series would've been much longer.**

—**^v—Angel Beats—**

**Chapter 1: Heart and Soul**

As he sat in the empty Student Council office, Otonashi Yuzuru wished, once more, to forget. The thought made him wince, as his mind was assaulted by memories of the days long past. Back when the _Shinda Sekai Sensen_, SSS for short, recruited him, when he went on crazy and often deadly missions with his old friends. While most people wouldn't consider things like lifting meal tickets more than playground bullying, they'd always found a way to make everything complicated and dangerous. Granted, the operation names were quite hyperbolic and always left him slapping his forehead in frustration, but they'd managed to turn simple things into complicated plans involving diversions, weapons, deaths, at least one instance of Yurippe screaming her head off at someone (usually Hinata) and…_her_. Always her. The one who took his heart and soul with her.

_Kanade._

Once upon a time, he'd seen her as the scariest being in the Afterlife. She could make blades appear out of her wrists, deflect bullets and grenades, fight better than trained combat experts, unflinchingly take wounds which could kill grown men, display feats of unnatural strength and move faster than the human eye could process. Because of her supernatural powers, ethereal looks, emotionless disposition and strict adherence to the rules, she was long thought of as an angel sent from God to wipe humans from the Afterlife. Fittingly, the rebels named her _Tenshi. _Accordingly, they trained themselves for combat and set up weapon factories to counter her power. Acting in self-defense, she'd wiped entire battalions of SSS members with apparent ease, all due to a simple misunderstanding on everyone's part. A poor, awkward girl stuck in a world she should've never entered had turned into a target for armed combat, simply because her dedication to prevent others from living in a world full of regrets had been mistaken as divine retribution from God Himself. She didn't really help matters herself, acting beyond awkward and often confusing people with her actions. Otonashi still remembered his first meeting with her, which began with him warning her that someone was trying to shoot her and ending with him getting stabbed through the chest. Because of that misunderstanding, he'd joined up with the SSS and prevented himself from passing.

Today, living in the same loneliness Kanade had suffered through and wishing he'd forget everything, he sometimes wished that he'd just let himself vanish the day all his friends 'graduated'. Trying to be a hero, he remained in the Afterlife after Kanade passed on. He wanted to help others leave this world, thinking their gratitude would be enough to sustain him. Sitting in his lonely office, with nothing but haunting memories to accompany him and regrets accumulated in the past years which prevented his passing, he realized it was never the words, but the sincere love and gratitude behind them which truly mattered. And now, he was too late. He was stuck in his miserable existence, perhaps forever. He now had to suffer from the same problem that Kanade did; alone and friendless for decades, he'd forgotten how to express human emotions, to the point he'd been considered an NPC by some students. Now he understood the silent girl's pain and her reluctance to stay behind. For a few years, he'd resented, maybe even _hated_ her. However, years of loneliness had shown him why she left. She spent her days surrounded by programmed human simulations and lost all her friends one by one. Truth be told, maybe even he would run at the first chance of an escape.

Taking another deep breath, he looked around the office, once occupied by the love of his life. It was once devoid of memories and had stayed that way for a long time, but he'd eventually decided to surround himself with memories, like photos of old SSS members and a pot of Kanade's favorite flowers. While the memories pained him each day, they also kept his mind and heart awake. After all, he had a job to do, and he needed the pain to keep himself from giving up and snapping like the last man who spent too much time alone in the Afterlife.

Suddenly, his office's door slammed open. Gasping in the doorway with a horrified look on his face was a green-haired student with eyes to match. He was one of the few students who'd refused to leave him alone, choosing to linger on for a while because of his regrets. The boy was Miyamoto Satoshi, Vice-President of the Student Council, leader of the Afterlife Defense Force and one of his most confusing cases to date. The reason he was here? Well, he left his younger brother alone when he died, and now couldn't pass on if it meant that Otonashi would remain without a companion. Wiping his mind clean of the haunting memories, he sat straight and looked his only friend in the eye.

"Otonashi-san, there's a new arrival which you need to deal with. She…" he hesitated for a moment, "she has memories…of _here_." _That_ shocked him out of his thoughts quicker than a blade to the chest. In his entire stay here, he'd never run into someone who kept their memories of past lives!

"You can tell me the entire story on our way out," Otonashi said in a flat, emotionless voice. He walked out of the office, with Satoshi closing the door behind them and catching up, trailing behind him. Otonashi sighed at this display of formality. "Satoshi, how will you lead me to the destination if you're _behind_ me?" Blushing, the boy took the lead and gave his report.

"Fifteen minutes ago, a new student appeared at Departure Point." Ah, the infamous 'Departure Point', the place which still haunted his nightmares from time to time. "A member of the ADF decided to guide her around the place, but she acted like she already knew the school, as if she'd been here before." For a moment, he held his breath, as if unsure of what to say. "Otonashi-san, I got this information from Ishikawa, so there may be some hyperbole in it…" Okay, that was worrying. Satoshi _never_ came to him with unreliable information, which means:

a) It was important enough to warrant Otonashi's immediate attention, even if it was unreliable.

b) The information was 100% fact, and Satoshi was trying to soften the blow.

"Don't mince words, Satoshi…there's no use in wasting time." The boy nodded, collected his breath and continued:

"The girl…she wants to see the Student Council President directly." he said softly. "She…wiped out the entire Retrieval team within a minute when they tried to use force. I don't know any details, but Ishikawa told me that you need to use…_that_." he said, nodding towards my wrists. Otonashi instantly knew what he was talking about. It was a power he'd never wanted, a strength he always thought he'd hijacked from its original owner. Nevertheless, he knew it was time to use it if even Satoshi and the hot-headed Ishikawa were scared.

"Guard Skill: Hand Sonic, version 2." he whispered, and a long blade materialized.

—**^v—Angel Beats—**

As he stepped out of the school building, Otonashi immediately went towards Ishikawa Takeshi, one of the most hot-headed people in the ADF. He was almost like Noda, but he carried an axe instead of a Halberd, had red hair instead of purple and considered the idea of worshipping his leader laughable. As soon as he saw his superiors, Ishikawa ran up to them and inclined his head towards them. Well, at least he inclined his head towards Otonashi. He merely sneered at Satoshi.

"Otonashi-san, and…_Satoshi_," he spat, "The girl hasn't moved after her last attack. We've left her alone…for the moment." He then looked at Otonashi's wrists, specifically at the twin blades coming out of them. "You'll need those." Then he abruptly turned and led them towards Departure Point, where the girl with memories of the Afterlife waited. The tension between Satoshi and Ishikawa could probably be cut with a knife, and Otonashi didn't see that changing anytime soon.

A few minutes later, they reached a place just above Departure Point, from where they could see what went on below. The entire floor was covered in blood and the small memorial Otonashi had erected for _her_ had an officer of the ADF speared through it. Normally, he'd punish the student who dared to do so. However, as soon as he looked at the girl everyone was so worried about, he couldn't care less about anything else in the world.

You'd think she would've changed between so many rebirths. However, everything about her was the same. Her silver hair, set in the same style as when she left. Her eyes, filled with desperation and anxiety, were the same shade of gold. She wore the same NPC outfit she'd worn the last time, and her hands were hidden behind two demonic claws coming from a purple vambrace.

"_I made it like this because you told me I'm playing the cruel Tenshi," _I remembered her saying, _"so I had to make it look mean."_

Unable to wait any longer, Otonashi unfurled his wings and jumped off the railing, straight towards the ground. With a few mighty flaps from his wings, he landed safely and waited for her to notice his rather flashy arrival. Unsurprisingly, she turned around, rushed towards him and aimed her claws at his chest, all on instinct. However, as soon as she saw his face, she let out a gasp and stood still. By now, all the ADF members had raised their guns towards her. Otonashi merely raised his hand and they relaxed, ready to shoot her if she made a wrong move. For a moment, both of them just stared at each other, as if in shock. Suddenly, she started to shake as if her body was going in shock and reached out towards him, as if in a dream.

"Y-Yuzuru?" she asked, still shaking. He nodded.

Suddenly, as if a dam had broken within her, she grabbed him in a hug…and started _crying_! It was the first time he'd seen her emotions explode like this, and it shocked him to the core. For a moment, he stood still as a rock, letting her cry out. Slowly, he reached out and hugged her, frightened that she would vanish once more. He put his arms around her, and pulled her close. Then, he felt it. It wasn't just her appearance that remained the same; her heart, the heart he'd given to her, still beat inside her with the same intensity as before. He tightened his grip around her, as he felt tears flow down his cheeks for the first time in centuries. His soul once more resonated with her heart, and he finally felt complete. As he cried, he could only choke out a few words; words he never thought he'd ever get to say again.

"I missed you, Kanade…"

—**^v—Angel Beats—**

**And that's it for the first chapter! I know it wasn't perfect, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless :D**


	2. Intertwined Destinies

**Hey guys, how's it going? A big thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited (wait...that's not even a word), you motivated me to write this chapter as soon as I ended up with some free time. A big shout-out to NeoNefario17, who was the first person to post a review. Keep being awesome :)**

**This chapter will have a switch in POV. Didn't know how that happened, but I think it was for the best. I tried not to mess it up, and I hope I've succeeded. Anyway, I guess I'll leave the final verdict to you guys!**

**Disclaimer: **_**'Angel Beats!'**_** doesn't belong to me, and probably never will. If it did, there would've been more Yuzuru/Kanade scenes in the series.**

—**^v—Angel Beats—**

Chapter 2: Intertwined Destinies

Lost in each other, Otonashi and Kanade were completely unaware of the world around them. To those two, the only thing mattered was their long overdue reunion with each other. They probably wouldn't even notice if the world collapsed around them. Therefore, it wasn't too surprising that they didn't pay any mind to the whispering people all around the campus.

"The Student Council President knows her…?"

"Who's she…"

"Didn't even know he was capable of emotions…"

"Man, she's hot!"

"DUDE! I EXPECTED A KICKASS BATTLE!"

The last person was, of course, Ishikawa. His indignant declaration brought the two out of their own little world, as they jerked towards him in shock. Finally, Otonashi became aware of the world around him. He saw everyone looking at him in shock and he knew why that was so. For years, nobody had ever seen him even smile, let alone give someone a hug and cry. Even Ishikawa stepped back in shock, which made Otonashi do another thing he hadn't done in centuries; smile.

"You looked shocked, Ishikawa," he said with a slightly hoarse voice, but with happiness in it. Ishikawa stared at his leader for a while, then shook his head in exasperation.

"Whatever man, stop creeping me out." He then walked towards Otonashi, not noticing the strange girl hugging his leader stiffen. "C'mon, we need to get back to base and-" whatever he wanted to say next died in his throat, as he felt the cold metal of two demonic claws on his jugular. He saw the girl look at his hand, which was near Otonashi's shoulder. Carefully, he withdrew it and looked at the powerful being in front of him with fear, knowing that even ten of him would be less than a workout for the girl in front of him. With her cold eyes and emotionless expression, she barely looked human.

"It's been six lifetimes since I saw him last," she said in a cold monotone "and there's no way that you're going to separate us anytime soon…so don't try anything, or-" whatever she was going to say next was cut off as Ishikawa fainted on the spot. Honestly, Otonashi couldn't blame him. Brave and strong he may be, but Ishikawa had no chance. Otonashi didn't know of anyone, or even any _army_ which could stand against Kanade's wrath. She was just too powerful, plain and simple. Remembering the destruction she caused in his absence, he placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She relaxed almost instantly and banished her Hand Sonic, which made everyone around them sigh in relief.

"Um…Otonashi-san," Satoshi spoke carefully, standing at a safe distance from them. As Otonashi looked up, so did Kanade. Sensing the unease rolling off his second-in-command in waves, Otonashi smiled and nodded at him. This seemed to have a positive effect on Satoshi, as his body seemed to relax. "We should go to the Student Council office," he said, and then smiled at Kanade. "Tachibana-san is welcome, of course." Seeing Kanade's shock, Otonashi let out a soft chuckle and led her towards the staircase.

"Bring Ishikawa along with us," he called out to Satoshi, "we'll drop him off with the medics along the way." Nodding, the green-hared boy gestured at some members of the ADF to carry Ishikawa along with them, then chased after the duo.

As Satoshi caught up to the duo, Otonashi had already convinced Kanade to give the boy a chance. He didn't know what caused her to go off the rails like she had previously, but he knew it was a matter of time before she told him. Until then, he'd just have to make do with her bad mood and make sure that nobody got killed along the way.

"So...you're the new Vice President, right?" Kanade started, looking and sounding uncomfortable. It didn't surprise Otonashi one bit, since he knew how awkward she was around people. Hell, the entire reason the first SSS war started was because Kanade didn't know how to interact with others (that, and because Yuri was anything but understanding and patient). Fortunately, Satoshi seemed to have gotten over his fear of her, and gave her a soft smile.

"Indeed. You're Otonashi-san's predecessor, right?" At Kanade's nod, the boy held out his hand. "Miyamoto Satoshi, at your service." She looked at the hand for a moment, then at Otonashi. Seeing this, he gave her a reassuring smile and nodded. After that, Kanade grabbed hold of Satoshi's offered hand without hesitation.

"Tachibana Kanade, nice to meet you."

—**^v—Angel Beats—**

**Kanade's POV**

Both Miyamoto and Kanade walked slightly behind Yuzuru, who was talking with what seemed like a group of medics. Seeing the new and organized setup he had come up with was slightly shocking to Kanade, but she knew that he loved working as hard as he could to help others, and he'd probably planned everything out for centuries. It made her happy to see that Yuzuru's dedication to everyone around him was still just as strong as it had always been, and that her departure hadn't harmed him as much as she'd once thought. It had been the biggest regret of her life (or rather, _lives_), one which had weighed her down for centuries.

Kanade didn't know how and why, but she had remembered Yuzuru and the Afterlife throughout her time on Earth. Their time together and everything that happened between them during that sunset was etched into her memories. She'd tried looking for him since then, but it took her six rebirths and nearly five centuries to realize the terrifying truth; he never moved on. Honestly, that was all it took to morph her entire existence into her own personal hell. She'd eventually stopped looking for him and had focused on reforming the SSS again, at which she'd succeeded. However, even _that_ didn't ease her guilt, since their presence always reminded her of Yuzuru. Plus, even though most of the SSS didn't hold any form of anger against her, she knew they were still uncomfortable with the idea of having her around. After all, years of war and animosity can't be erased within a matter of minutes. Her only real friends in the SSS were Naoi and Yusa. The rest mistrusted her, Noda hated her and TK was indifferent towards everything around him.

As for Yuri, even though the magenta-haired girl was nice towards her, Kanade could easily see the disgust and anger in her eyes whenever they interacted. She never knew why Yuri seemed to hate her so much, but the reason for her hatred became clear one day, when she overheard her talking with Hinata. Yuri told him of how much she'd loved Yuzuru, how she blamed Kanade for leaving him alone in the Afterlife and how hard it was to tolerate her presence each and every day. It was enough to shatter what was left of Kanade's broken heart and she left then and there, vowing to let the SSS go on without forcing them to tolerate her presence. She knew their hatred was justified, so she decided to isolate herself from the world. She ignored everyone's phone calls, changed her school and practically hid herself from the world. Her loneliness and guilt over leaving Yuzuru behind tore at her for years, ripping her apart from the inside-out. Her parents tried everything to make her happy, but she'd retreated too far into her shell. Even the best psychiatrists and psychologists gave up after a while, leaving her parents with no options. Five centuries of guilt and failure had finally taken their toll on her, and Kanade just wanted to be freed. Finally, the day came.

It was the day of her graduation, and Kanade felt nothing but apprehension. The memories of her 'graduation' from the Afterlife and her betrayal of Yuzuru's trust assaulted her fragile mind with more intensity than ever before, but she did an admirable job of hiding it. Her face was cool and collected, her emotions hidden behind the façade she'd perfected in death. Her parents made the usual attempts to coax her into showing some emotion, but she just ignored them and walked out after finishing her breakfast. She was waiting to cross the road, when suddenly…

"ARATA!"

She turned towards where the voice came from to see a woman trying to wade through the crowd on the other side of the road. Then she saw a kid frozen in the middle of the street, staring at the truck rocketing towards him. Kanade knew he couldn't evade by himself and that it would take a miracle to save him. Thankfully, her rebirth hadn't stripped her of the power to make miracles happen, though she knew if she used _it_ in real life, she wouldn't survive for too long. Still, it wasn't like it mattered anyway.

"Guard Skill: Overdrive." Kanade whispered. Suddenly, she felt her body surge with otherworldly power. Pushing her body to its limit, she ran towards the boy in full speed and pushed him out of the way just before he was hit. A split-second later, her senses were overcome with pain as the truck crashed into her. The impact tossed her away like a rag doll after which she slammed into the street. She knew her body would've been destroyed if not for Overdrive, but her Guard Skill compensated for that by draining away her life force. Knowing that she was living on borrowed time, she reached her hand towards her pocket and pulled out her Donor Card. For the first time in her many lives, she'd not filled it out. Using all her remaining strength, she pulled a pen out of her pocket and began filling it out. She drowned out all the screams and the outraged voices, and focused solely on the card in her hand.

A few moments later, she'd managed to do the last thing she needed to in this life. She'd signed away all her organs except for her heart, which was the one thing she'd never been able to donate. For all her supposed strength, Kanade could never let go of it. As the world around her came back into focus, she looked at the sky for one last time. With an amused smile, she remembered that she'd never been able to attend that graduation after all.

"KANADE!"

She recognized her mom's voice and looked sideways for a second. Her mom was running towards her in full speed, following the paramedics rushing towards her. However, she knew her time was already up. Giving her mom a last smile, her eyes looked towards the blue sky once more. As her life faded away, she had one final thought:

"_Yuzuru, I'm coming…"_

"KANADE! KANA-"

"-de?" She blinked, realizing that Yuzuru was standing right in front of her with an amused look on his face. Assaulted with memories of their painful separation once more, she tackled him into a tight hug, tears streaming from her face. He wasted no time in returning it, but his body felt a bit tense from the sudden hug. "Kanade, what's wrong?" Yuzuru asked, his voice laced with concern. She merely shook her head and pulled away a bit, staring at his concerned face. It made her heart soar, knowing that he loved her so much. That reminded her of something she owed him. It was hardly the most appropriate place, but it was something she wanted-no, _needed_ to do.

"Yuzuru?" She asked him. He nodded, still looking confused. "Remember that sunset so long ago, when you told me that you…_loved_ me?" she asked. He looked nervous, but gave her a nod. "D-do you still feel that way?" This time, he nodded without hesitation, which gave her the final push to do what she was about to. She grabbed his head from behind, stood on her tiptoes and pulled him into a kiss.

It was nothing like she'd ever felt. Her heart burst into song the moment their lips touched, their souls intertwined by that one act. She felt his power wash through her as he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss even further. Even though this was her first ever kiss, she knew this wasn't how kisses normally went. However, she loved the feeling and couldn't care less about what was and wasn't normal. After all, they weren't exactly normal people.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally separated. Somehow, Kanade felt Yuzuru's warmth stay within her, healing her emotional scars and protecting her from any more harm to come her way. Somehow, it was like their souls has managed to forge a powerful connection with each other, satisfying a yearning older than a few centuries. However, it still felt like something was missing. With a start, she remembered.

"Yuzuru?" she asked, bringing him out of his daze. "What you said back then…can you say it once more?" She could see the pain and nervousness on his face. She knew what her words were making him go through. He was worried about her leaving again, which renewed her resolve. Never again. Never again would she abandon him.

"Kanade…" he hugged her tight. "I love you…let's be together forever…" The pain in his voice was heart-rending. That alone was enough to let her know that her passing had damaged him more than he'd let on. He still hadn't recovered from the harsh blow she'd dealt to his soul.

Thankfully, she had an eternity to fix everything.

"I love you too, Yuzuru…and this time, nothing will tear us apart."

—**^v—Angel Beats—**

**And that's it for today's chapter! I'd like to know how you guys felt about this one (was it good? Bad? Terribad? Is that even a word?!) so let me know by leaving a review here! It helps motivate the author and helps him/her improve, so it's a mutual benefit thing…plus, it costs nothing :D**

**Bye, see you in the next one!**


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